According to a report by SMC Capitals, there are over 3.1 crore active Indian users on social networking sites. According to a report on retailing by FICCI’s B2B directory website, over 60% of India’s population is under the age of 30, which means they are more likely to take their thoughts and complaints on line.

As these numbers are only expected to grow, keeping track of and caring about what’s being said about a brand in the digital world is increasingly important. Companies can spend millions of dollars to promote their brands, yet a single negative post can damage their reputations.

A service called SMS GupShup is winning the race to become India’s version of Twitter by promoting social networking through text messaging on cellphones. But it faces a challenge: It can’t afford to be too popular.

SMS GupShup lets groups of cellphone users discuss everything from stock tips to poetry through free mass text messaging. The service reaches 26 million users and says it accounted for 5% of the 148 billion text messages sent in India last year.

About India Chief Mentor

Produced by an expert panel of well known Indian entrepreneurs and investors, Alok Mittal, Mahesh Murthy, Dhruv Shringi, Sanjeev Bikchandani, Sanjay Anandaram, Varun Sahni and Rajeev Mantri, India Chief Mentor provides answers to key start-up challenges - whether building a business plan, scaling operations or seeking the right kind of funding. Write to paul.beckett@wsj.com with any feedback or ideas that you might have.